After a full day of closed-door sessions, the World Health Organization’s Executive Board at last announced its three director-general nominees set to face election in May. Ethiopia’s Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Pakistan’s Sania Nishtar, and Britain’s David Nabarro made the cut, with the results released in Geneva on Wednesday evening.
Tedros again took the lead with 30 votes, but Nishtar was close behind with a total of 28. Nabarro received 18 votes from the 34-member board.
The results came as something of a surprise within global health circles, who favored French candidate Philippe Douste-Blazy, along with Nabarro and Tedros. When the list was whittled down to five candidates on Tuesday, Italy’s Flavia Bustreo had come in second. The loss of both Europeans has led observers to predict that Nabarro’s campaign may see a boost in the coming months.
About the author
Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo
Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.
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